Asiad notes
HANGZHOU – Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann said there’s no need to sound the alarm on Team Philippines, which has yet to strike gold after Day 6 of the competition here. He said it’s too early for that. “I’m still hoping,” Bachmann said. The gold has been elusive so far, even for skateboarder Margie Didal, who delivered one of the four golds in the 2018 edition. She came here nursing an ankle injury that required surgery 11 months ago, and finished eighth and last in her event last Wednesday. In 2018, the Philippines struck gold only after three days of competition through Hidilyn Diaz in women’s weightlifting. Also around that time, the Filipinos had four bronze medals on hand. No wonder that some people, six days into the Games, are set to push the panic button. “I’m looking at EJ Obiena (pole vault) and others who can pull off a surprise. You still have weightlifting. Hopefully, they can add,” Bachmann said. “Madami pa ‘yan.” That’s the spirit.